next year, my best friend and I are headed to Europe for 4 months. we bounce back and forth between certain places but for the most part we have a minimum of 15 countries we really want to go to. right now 17 is the number we’d like to see and the list goes:

we will do 10 days in Iceland and then from there its open. we want to hit the west quick just to see the sights. 3-4 days each. after that all other countries have between 5-10 days to stay. is that to many countries? how much money should we expect to spend each month if our trip is geared for E.Europe and the Mediterranean? we will pre pay for our flights and not include that in our budget.. but i was thinking 15-18000$ (canadian) range for 4 months.

any of these countries need more or less time? (Italy will be at least 10 days). is there a country on the list people would suggest not going to? we are pretty open to all activities.. we just want to get out there and do it what each country has to offer. thanks in advance for any tips or help.

I would suggest you list places you want to visit in each country. Some of the countries on your list (France, Germany, Spain certainly) have many places worth seeing, while others have fewer places, so you will probably divide up your time accordingly. People don’t post a lot about Portugal, but I think it is worth seeing. In fact, you could possibly save some time and money by buying a multiple destination ticket, where you would fly to Iceland and then England, but fly home from Lisbon. You might try to squeeze in Madrid and some villages while you are in Spain. I don’t see the attraction of Monaco; Cinque Terre in Italy is far more scenic, and Florence is nice (with a half-day trip to Pisa).

I’m American, so I don’t know the intricacies of visas for Canadians, but Americans are limited to, I think, 90 days in a six-month period in the Schengen confederacy, which includes most if not all of the countries on your list. To stay longer, we have to apply for a Visa from one of the countries, which takes some time and money. I suggest you check whether this limitation would apply to you also. You could structure your itinerary so you spend 90 days in the Schengen countries, and the fourth month in non-Schengen countries.

Thank you for the information on the Visa. I was under the assumption that each country would have their own and we’d only be doing a limited amount of time in each so there was no need for a visa. we will need to get the Schengen visa as the only country we will visit that isn’t part is England.

the number beside each place will be days we plan on spending Iceland (10), London (4), Paris (2), Amsterdam (4), Berlin (4), Tallinn (6), Riga (6), Vilnius (6), Krakow/Warsaw (10), Odessa (5), Bucharest/Brasov (Dracula’s castle) (6), Istanbul (3), Athens/Mykonos (10), Italy (2-3 weeks), Monaco (4), Bercelona/Ibiza/any good beaches (10), Lisbon/any good beaches (10). The days allotted can and will change once we find out how much each country has to offer. it is also possible for us to extend our trip if we need more time.

its pretty much on the beaten path. not to say we won’t deviate if we find something of interest. we are still in the early stages of planning so we don’t really know the hidden gems of a country or other good places to be besides the capitals. I’m sure there is a lot to see in France and Germany, but we want to focus more on the Eastern and Mediterranean areas so Paris and Berlin are the only two places we will see in those countries. After Turkey, most of the trip will be geared for the beaches. Besides the main attractions like Athens, Rome or Barcelona, we are going to try to find good beach towns.

18000$ is adequate for 4 months? any suggestions or tips for any of those countries/cities? (besides Italy. i know of Cinque Terre, Meteora, Venice, Florence, Rome, etc which is why i allotted so much time for Italy)

Is there a reason you’ve picked Odessa as your only stop in Ukraine? It’s not easy to get to in general and pretty remote from the rest of Ukraine. Crimea (Yalta in particular) is probably more representative of Black Sea beach areas and Asian influenced Ukraine, Kiev of Ukrainian culture (if there actually is such a thing) Kharkiv of Russian influenced Ukraine and maybe L’viv of less Russian, more Eastern European Ukraine.

Bran Castle is associated with Bram Stoker’s Dracula but not the historical figure. It is possible (but pretty unlikely) that Vlad stayed there ONE night. It’s a little hoakie and touristy, but probably worth a visit. Nearby Rasnov Fortress is probably more interesting. We enjoyed Brasov. Bucharest is interesting, but not a favorite for me. We liked the area around Suceava better.

If you are going to Bran for Vlad, then you must head to Sighisoara which is where Vlads house is.
It’s a beautiful town only 2 hours away by train from Brasov.

In Brasov I stayed at Jugend Stube hostel which is right in the old town district and right around corner from bus that you catch to auto gara 2 which is where you catch the bus to Bran castle, which i suggest never doing on a sunday.

If you do stay in sighisoara, there are only two hostels, and nathans books out fast i missed out and stayed in a pension which wasnt very good for the money i paid the citadel is definitely worth the visit!!!

Odessa just sounded like a nice little beach town with some partying. on different lists i read of good beaches, Odessa seems to be on every one. other than that, i really have no other information on that area. i guess asking a question like “is it worth going to a beach town in Ukraine around may/june?” would also help the decision making on where to go in Ukraine. if its not a good time to go, i think maybe Kiev or somewhere with a lot of interest besides the beach is a better idea.

thank you for the info on Bran Castle, Vlad and his house. this is stuff i didn’t know. i knew that Bran Castle was associated with Bram Stokers Dracula, but really thats it. as far as the myth/story of Dracula, this is the first I’ve actually heard about it. heading to see his house sounds like a good adventure. definitely something worth looking in to.

are 5-6 days in both Ukraine and Romania sufficient to get a taste of what they are like?

Not sure what you’re expecting for beaches. Few European beaches are the sugar sand, palm trees and consistent great weather of the most popular Carribean, US or Mexican beaches. Black sea beaches in the Ukraine are pleasant, interesting, scenic but it’s not Cancun.

Ukraine is huge and diverse. While much of it has a decent rail system (Kiev to Kharkiv was the nicest, fanciest train I’ve ever been on) there are no high speed trains, so covering those huge distances isn’t fast or always easy. 5 or 6 days means probably only one location — worth the trip and a taste of Ukraine, but a little like visiting one city or National Park for a taste of the US.

Romania is also large, but somewhat easier to get around. A Latin based language using the Latin Alphabet makes it somewhat easier to navigate as a tourist. We spent a week there and got a taste, but certainly didn’t see all the places we’d like.

Wow, it can be a great adventure and good time for you. I like to go Greece because it is my favourite place where you can go all the Aegean islands, the ancient sites of Peloponnesus (Mycenae, Olympia), the monasteries of Meteora, the villages of Epirus, Thessalonike, the capital of Macedonia with important archaeological sites and museums,

I don’t expect palm trees and beaches like you find in the Caribbean or anything like that. Beach towns i find have a more laid back party atmosphere and the weather tends to be better. Partying is definitely going to be high on the priority list. you say the trains are slow in the Ukraine.. is it quicker or easier to get around by bus? maybe even worth flying?

Greece is a place we’ll probably spend 2 weeks. seems like there is so much stuff there to see and do. Meteora is going to be a must for me. that place looks amazing. Of course Athens is also a must considering the history that is there. Thirimanne, is 2 weeks a sufficient amount of time to see all of those things you posted about?

Don Bass Aero is one of the regional airlines in Ukraine. They might have service that will work for you. Austrian Air flies to several of the larger Ukrainian cities, but they don’t offer a whole lot of options.

Ukrainian roads are bone-jarringly awful and buses are very slow and somewhat hap-hazard. Train is definitely a better and faster option if there’s rail service available to your destination. It’s not that trains are terribly slow, they’re generally in the 100 km/ hr range. It’s just that the distances are huge, and there aren’t 200 and 300 km/hr trains. Overnight trains are a good option since the wider Russian gauge track makes for bigger, more comfortable berths.

I do not think 17 is too much for 4 months… technically you have about 1 week for each country. With proper pre-planning it will surely go well!
I also really do not want to tempt you, but there are other amazing countries I would say are must sees. You should really (spam deleted) consider Hungary and Croatia, both extremely beautiful and quite cheap, especially Hungary.